Compelling Characters: Character Analysis With Cartoons to Boot

34 Months in Victorian Whitechapel: Ripper Archetypes, Soldiers & The Unseen Killer . Gruesome Comic Book Art Disclaimer: this post covers unpleasant themes, discretion is advised.  6 to 7 min read Ripper Archetype in Historical Fiction Jack the Ripper became a mythical figure and I dunno why I'm covering it to be honest, it’s a case so cold it's as frozen solid as one of Keir Starmer's pensioners! Missing evidence, lost files, and insufficiently trained police all contributed. Much like Robin Hood, Jack the Ripper is an alluring archetype depicted through quite a few compelling characters, though none as embarrassing as Kevin Costner’s smug American Lord Loxley. In this blog, I've decided to share 'From Hell' with you before writing my own shit fan fiction, before subjecting you to my thoughts on who the Ripper actually was and why. 'From Hell' Public House Alan Moore's graphic novel, ‘From Hell,’ offers a fresh perspective, adding a rich di...

Marieha Hussain: The Controversial ‘Coconut’ Placard Case Fact: When a person of colour behaves in a way perceived to be associated with white people, they could be called a 'coconut' by non-white individuals, because the flesh of a caucasian person and a coconut are both called white. Is this racism?  The Case: Around the time of the Palestine marches in 2023 - 2024, Marieha Hussain, a teacher, faced legal action for holding a placard up showing Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman as coconuts. Regardless of any humour which she insisted it was, the racial context was flagged as pejorative or derogatory. Although Hussain was acquitted, she lost her career and faced online abuse, but still defended the placard as satire throughout. It can appear petty to be put on trial over a placard, but is it always so? Marieha Hussain's protest board does pale in comparison to modern celebrity acts of racism.  The Placard It was unfortunate that the Hussain family faced such harsh t...

An Examination of Court Proceedings: Is Letby Definitely Guilty?  Everyone Saw The New Reports  Disclaimer: this post covers unpleasant themes, discretion is advised.  6 to 7 min read The nation was captured right from the first news report. It was a case that got under everyone's skin; familiar TV reporters all told us of the rising death toll among babies and infants in the Countess of Chester Hospital. The wider media would speculate, were these deaths negligence? Maybe there was a criminal element or incompetence? The knock-on effect for the police was the tremendous public expectation to catch someone. It was 2017 when coverage began and the news story itself created intense 'turn the telly up' moments, amplifying the daily need to find out if they had uncovered that one evil person.  The Early Media Coverage Was Attention Grabbing: Initial Reports It was quite speedy how the focus turned to Lucy Letby. However, people were saying the young nurse was pre...

Alternative Narratives of Christ: The Crucifixion.  In the Famous Gospel Stories... 12 to 18 min read Jesus of Nazareth is said to be the son of God who chose to take up his divine mission to save mankind by dying on the cross for all sins. For me this sounds ridiculous. The  religiously obsessed  and the literalist tend to believe it! Anyway, despite Jesus being a mesmeric persona, he is shrouded by countless years of mythological bollocks and religious symbolism, which may not be relevant to what really happened.  People bullshit, exaggerate. They lie. Now, Critical Scholars and literalist evangelicals are still arguing on what parts of the New Testament are authentic or not. Doesn't that say something? Verily, verily I say unto thee, the prevailing belief among scholars is that they don't really know what is one hundred percent historical. For instance, conservative scholar Craig L. Blomberg said, 'Strictly speaking, the gospels are anonymous.' According t...